Grooming a Cairn Terrier, even the fairly painless grooming of a household pet, is a process which takes a while to learn and perfect. Remember that you must be patient with your Cairn and yourself. If you will recall, you were not too pleased with your mother's early attempts to bathe you and comb the snarls out of your hair!
A beautiful coat does not begin with grooming, or even with a proper diet. It starts with the genes. Dogs with poor coats will tend to produce poor-coated offspring. When you are looking at a litter of puppies, remember this guideline-the adorable puppy with the fluffy coat will probably have a soft, difficult-to-keep coat as an adult. The plain puppy with little or no fluff will probably have the correct hard coat when he/she grows up. Pet or show quality, a Cairn's coat should be hard without being coarse, shiny with health, and dense. It should be straight, although a slight wave is allowed, and should lie fairly close to the body. Your best bet is to simply purchase a puppy bred from parents with good coats. Your chances of a good coat on your newfound friend will be better.
There is some truth to the saying that wheatens have softer coats overall than Cairns of other colors. Some reds and brindles have coats so hard that it is almost impossible to keep leg and head furnishings of any length. If this short coat is not what you desire, you can put oil preparations, available at many pet product stores, on the furnishings. Some moisturizers meant for human hair work just as well but make sure they contain nothing hazardous to your dog's health if he decides he likes the tasty treat on his whiskers or legs.
Proper feeding is vital to maintaining what nature has given your puppy. Nothing will lay a good coat to waste faster than generic dog food. A high-quality food is all that is needed. In fact, supplementing with various vitamins, powders, and other touted preparations can throw off the balance of the ingredients so carefully achieved in the food you have purchased.
When it comes to actual grooming, brushing often with a natural bristle brush and keeping toenails clipped short are two of the best things you can do for your puppy. Daily brushing gets your puppy used to handling and offers the added benefit of close contact with you. Gently brushing and stroking the pup at the same time makes this an enjoyable experience for both of you.
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